


Need To Know (Reylo X-Files Collection)

by ladyofreylo



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, The X-Files
Genre: Abduction, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Children, F/M, First Meetings, Happy Ending, Kids, Love Story, Mulder & Scully - Freeform, No Pregnancy, No Smut, Romance, ben is scully, rey is mulder, x-files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:47:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27877073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyofreylo/pseuds/ladyofreylo
Summary: The door opened suddenly and Special Agent Benjamin Solo, medical doctor and Marine, strode in.  He carried a box of personal effects, ready to start work.Rey was all kinds of interested.  “Hey, partner.”  She stood up and peeked in the box at his pencil holder, stapler, files, and a ruler.  “I have pencils and staples.  And all that.”Ben set the box on his desk.  “Stop looking in the box, Agent Nosy.”Rey shrugged.  “Have it your way, but I’m not sharing my pencils if you’re going to be snotty.”  She pointed at the ceiling where a forest of pencils hung, stuck in the tiles.Ben’s mouth dropped open.  Then he snapped it shut without comment."The Truth Is Out There" but it's on a Need To Know basis.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 49
Collections: Ijustfellintothissendhelp, Reylo X-Files Collection





	Need To Know (Reylo X-Files Collection)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to the alpha and beta readers who read and re-read this story: flavorofkylo, jadedwarrior, lexirayne, alireadstoomuch, and milareylojennings. I don't know what I would have done without you! All the hugs in the world.

Special Agent Benjamin Solo walked into the Division Chief’s office and shook hands with Chief Blevins and Assistant Director Skinner, murmuring a soft greeting to both men.

Blevins shuffled a sheaf of papers in front of him while Skinner stood near the window, hands behind his back. Both he and Blevins looked rather eagerly at Ben as if he were a prized stallion. 

Ben took a seat on a too-small chair in front of Blevins’ desk. He shifted around, looking for a comfortable spot to put his size 14 feet.

Blevins cleared his throat. “Special Agent Solo,” he intoned. “Medical doctor and decorated Marine, who now works for us here. We are pleased to have you, Agent Solo, so very pleased.”

Behind Blevins, Skinner nodded his agreement and continued to gaze upon Ben with assessing eyes.

“Thank you, sir,” Ben replied warily. “I’m not sure…” He stopped himself before blurting out the oddness of his latest assignment. 

“Yes, well. You may not thank me for long.” Blevins sighed and collected his thoughts. “We have a division here that’s not terribly popular, but it’s a pet project of… Let’s just say a higher-up.”

There was a momentary pause. Skinner turned to look out the window and muttered, “Speak of the devil.”

Blevins made no comment to that statement. Ben raised his brows and waited for some clarification. None came. He figured he had no need to know, a common theme in his career. All information was on a need-to-know basis--and if he didn’t need to know, well, so be it.

Through the window came the sound of raspy coughing from what had to be a heavy smoker. Ben had given up cigarettes after he learned to smoke in the Marines but he recognized the hacking that came along with a two-pack-a-day habit.

Blevins continued. “Agent Rey Johnson is in charge of the so-called X-Files, for better or for worse.”

“So I’ve heard, Chief. What’s the bottom line here?”

Blevins raised his brows. “The bottom line is keep  _ her  _ in line. She’s taking oddball cases and making up even odder theories.”

Ben nodded once, a short, crisp nod. He was used to keeping people in line--he had done so often as a Marine.

Blevins slid a file toward him across the desk. Clipped to the top was a photo of a pretty, dark-haired woman with a huge smile and lively hazel eyes.

“This is Agent Johnson?” Ben ignored the stab of something he felt below the belt. Her beauty had nothing to do with the assignment.

“Yes, and don’t let that smile fool you. She’s sharp and wily as a fox.” Blevins paused. “You investigate her. That’s your job.”

Ben raised his eyes to meet the chief’s. “She doesn’t know?”

“She thinks you’re her partner.”

“I  _ am  _ her partner,” Ben stated, suddenly feeling protective toward this woman, who had no idea her job was on the line.

He closed the file and tried to pass it back. 

Blevins shook his head. “No, keep it. Report back to me.”

“Yes, sir.” Ben leaned forward. “Exactly what am I looking for?”

The chief leaned forward. “She believes in aliens. And not the kind that sneak across the border. The woo-woo kind from up there.” He pointed to the ceiling.

Ben’s gaze never wavered. “I see. And how does that affect the way Agent Johnson does her job?”

“I told you, her reports are downright bizarre. She sees monsters and aliens around every corner. Keep an eye on her, would you? I’m building a case.”

“To have her fired?”

“Possibly.”

Skinner stole a glance out the window again before he spoke up. “Yes definitely. Johnson has become a liability for the agency.” He walked over to point a finger at Ben. “Use whatever means necessary to make her trust you.” He looked Ben up and down slowly, lingering on Ben’s chest for a moment too long.

Ben felt like asking if Skinner wanted to check out the size of his dick, too. He stared Skinner down until the other man looked away. “I see.”

Blevins gave him a hard look. “Is there a problem, Agent Solo?”

“No, sir.” Ben nodded once again and grabbed the file.

It was time to meet Special Agent Rey Johnson.

<>

Ben wound his way through the basement of the building to a back corner. He knocked on the scarred wooden door with a rusty iron number 13. It hung askew. Possibly on purpose.

A feminine voice told him to enter.

The office was big and cavernous with two massive wooden desks, a beat-up work table, and multiple battered file cabinets lining the walls. Bulletin boards hung on the walls with blurry photos tacked up. Rey Johnson sat behind one desk, tapping away on a small laptop.

She looked up at Ben and smiled.

He felt like he’d been thunked in the gut. Her smile was even brighter in person.

“Agent Solo,” she said warmly. “Nice to meet you.” She rose from the desk and sped around to the front. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, though she did have on an expensive brown suit.

She held out her slender hand and he took it. She pumped it up and down. “So glad to have a partner again.” She smiled at him up close. “I wasn’t sure they’d let me after….” She paused and a shadow crossed her pretty face. She dropped his hand. “Well, never mind that.” She looked around the office. “Hope you like my dungeon. Have a seat. You can have that desk if you want it. Or I can switch with you.”

Ben pulled up a chair next to Rey’s desk. “I’ll make do for now, Agent Johnson. Let’s talk about why I’m here.”

Rey walked back around her desk and warily took a seat.

“I thought you were assigned to be my partner,” she said faintly.

Ben made no comment. He pulled a pair of glasses out of his pocket, set Rey’s file on the desk, and opened it. He dropped the glasses onto his nose.

“You have my personnel file,” Rey said in an expressionless voice.

Ben looked up. “Yes.”

“Are you spying on me, Agent Solo? That file is supposed to be confidential.” She met his gaze squarely.

He didn’t bother to deny it. “Your work is unusual. I’m here to file my own reports about you and your investigations. And I’m your partner as of today.”

“Is that so?” Rey’s lips pressed together in a line. “I’m happy to have a partner, as I said; however, I am the senior agent on the X-Files. These are my cases. You will be assisting me.”

Ben flipped a page in the file. “To be clear, Agent Johnson, you’re under investigation for your unorthodox methods and theories. I’m here to--”

“Make sure I’m not being too weird?” She laughed. “Good luck, Chuck.”

Ben’s eye twitched momentarily. “Pardon me? Who is Chuck?”  
“You, Solo. You’re Chuck. And I’m about to be fucked.” She got up out of her seat, a ball of restless energy. She leaned her hip on the desk. “Who ordered this witch hunt, Solo? I know it wasn’t you.” She leaned over the desk and turned the file around to look at it.

Ben hastily snatched the file back and immediately regretted dropping his calm facade. Rey’s sharp hazel eyes didn’t miss anything. She knew he was irritated.

“Just cooperate, Johnson, and you can keep your job.”

Rey’s smile widened. She chuckled.

Ben was startled by the sudden switch in demeanor.

She stood and stretched. “Hungry, Solo? A big strong agent like yourself must need a lot of fuel to keep running a paranoid investigation of the local witch.”

Was she baiting him? He felt a short stab of anger and crushed it.

“I’d be glad to join you for lunch,” he said.

“Excellent. I know a place.”

<>

The woman could eat, Ben thought. Where she put the food, he didn’t know. She took him to a burger place with loud music and waitstaff serving food on rollerskates.

He ordered his usual: a cup of black coffee and a grilled chicken sandwich.

His new partner made a face at him and ordered a cheeseburger with spicy pickles and a side of fries. She topped it off with a big lemonade.

The cheeseburger was enormous but Rey managed to stuff it in, rolling her eyes and moaning over its juicy goodness.

Ben tried not to think about how she might moan in bed. Maybe she’d roll her eyes in pleasure as she….

He sipped his coffee and willed himself to think about something else. Like how he was going to keep her from getting fired--or whether he should even try. She didn’t appear to care one way or another. She was annoyed with being investigated.

He cleared his throat. Rey looked up expectantly with a mouthful of burger.

“Chew and swallow,” he ordered.

She raised her eyes to the ceiling. “I know how to eat, Solo. What’s your problem?”  
“Nothing. I read your case file reports and, while your theories are unusual, your methods are solid. You have great investigative instincts and the procedures all check out. The issue seems to be your wild theories about the causes of those crimes.”

“Lovely,” Rey said dismissively. “You’ve discovered I’m a good agent. Goodie for you.”

“I’m trying to make a point here,” Ben all but snarled. He took a deep breath and saw the laughter in Rey’s eyes. “Dammit, stop baiting me.”

She leaned in and pointed a crispy fry at him. “No. It’s way too much fun.”

“Why the aliens, Johnson? You can’t be serious.”

“Not everything is aliens, Solo. Sometimes we have ghosts or mutants or …” 

He snorted. “Ludicrous. You bait the agency like you bait me. Are you trying to get yourself fired?”

“Not really,” Rey said, shrugging. “I’m merely investigating using a different lens. One with which I am familiar.”

“How so?” Ben found himself genuinely interested. A different lens for investigating. His curiosity kicked into high gear--he himself had used his medical degree and his military training to help solve cases. Rey used a paranormal lens like it was a specialty.

Rey pursed her lips and took a sip of lemonade. “I’ll tell you sometime, Agent Solo. When you need to know.”

“I’m your partner,” he shot back. “I need to know now.”

“Not really,” she stated and jumped up out of the booth. “I’m buying. Happy new partnership.”

<>

Rey Johnson, Very Special Agent assigned to the X-Files, waited for her new partner to come into work the next day. She’d heard of him before, the super-agent with the extra military training. Even though he was there to spy on her, she looked forward to hearing his ideas about her cases.

And she had no idea how sexy a tall, geeky dude with big ears and glasses could be. 

She wasn’t here to fuck her new partner, cute as he was. Such an indiscretion would not help her keep her job. 

Rey twirled in her chair and tossed a sharp wooden pencil upward into the drop ceiling tiles. It hit, sharp end first, and stuck there, along with the rest of them. Who really cared what she did at the agency? Her reports went unread and her cases, every one of them, were relegated to the dumpster of unsolved mysteries.

Rey had joined the FBI to find her sister and help other abductees learn what happened to them. She tried to prove that the government was hiding knowledge of extraterrestrial life. She’d been young when her father had his job at the Pentagon, but she remembered whispered conversations between her parents about…. things.

After losing the respect of just about everyone in the Bureau for her odd ideas, Rey was consigned to work on her little cases all by herself. Which was fine by her.

The FBI wanted her out? Rey snorted and opened her secret case file encrypted on her computer. She’d been down that road before.

The door opened suddenly and Special Agent Benjamin Solo, medical doctor and Marine, strode in. He carried a box of personal effects, ready to start work.

Rey was all kinds of interested. “Hey, partner.” She stood up and peeked in the box at his pencil holder, stapler, files, and a ruler. “I have pencils and staples. And all that.”

Ben set the box on his desk. “Stop looking in the box, Agent Nosy.”

Rey shrugged. “Have it your way, but I’m not sharing my pencils if you’re going to be snotty.” She pointed at the ceiling where a forest of pencils hung, stuck in the tiles.

Ben’s mouth dropped open. Then he snapped it shut without comment. “I’ll keep that in mind. What’s the current case?” He pulled out his laptop.

Rey dropped back into her chair and twirled for a second.

“I’ll email it to you. It’s not a case so much as…” She stopped talking to click into her email.

“As what?” He looked at the email that came through. “A panel presentation at a high school?”

“Yes, on women in STEM jobs, including law enforcement.” Rey smiled at him. “That’s what we’re working on today.”

“No,” he said. He pulled up another email. “We’re working on a missing person’s case that you’ve been secretly pursuing. You’ve covered your tracks pretty well, but I found it. If I can find it, rest assured others will, too.”

“Others?”

“The powers that be. The ones who want you out. Blevins, Skinner, and I don’t know who else.” He tilted his head to one side. “You can choose to trust me or not, but it will be easier if you do. Stop bullshitting and sidelining me.”

Rey swiveled her chair from side to side. “It’s usually at this point that I start sleeping with someone. That’s the level of access you are asking for.”

He met her gaze head on. “Yes, though I don’t usually get intimately involved with co-workers. But as far as level of access, that about sums it up.”

“Wanna fuck on the desk or elsewhere?” She loved watching his reactions. He got all puffed up when she messed with him. His eyes flashed almost green in the fluorescent lights. She noted that they were hazel like hers but with more brown flecks.

“No,” he said, through gritted teeth.

She grinned at him. “Okay.”

Ben pulled a thin file from his laptop satchel. He opened it and again settled the glasses on his nose. “Case file number 451J, Case of Missing Person, Samantha Lee Johnson.”

Rey said nothing.

“It’s a slim file because the reports have not been kept up to date by the lead investigator.” He paused. “You’re listed as that agent, am I correct?”

“Yes,” Rey said.

No one, especially not Special Agent Benjamin Solo, would understand what it was like to live with the knowledge that one’s little sister had been stolen from her bed. The bed next to your own. In the middle of the night.

Rey watched his mind work. She knew what was coming. What they always said after reading what little information they discovered before she had learned how to effectively cover her tracks. He had no idea how much she had done in this investigation.

“Look, Johnson, I know how hard it is.”

“Do you?” Rey interrupted. “I don’t think you do. Not to be a jerk or anything, Solo, but your sister wasn’t taken in the middle of the night, was she?”

He looked startled. “I don’t have a sister.”

“Precisely. You didn’t hear your parents talking about it and the divorce that followed.”

Ben cleared his throat. “And that’s why I think it wasn’t aliens, Johnson. Have you considered the possibility…?”

Rey could barely let anyone finish, so deep was her disdain. “I have not--”

“Let me finish, please.” Ben drew a breath.

Rey figured she owed him some courtesy before she lost her shit.

“It could be that your sister was kidnapped by actual people, instead of aliens.”

Rey nodded. “It could be. And you don’t think I’ve looked into that possibility, too?”

Ben had the grace to drop his intense gaze. “I suppose you have.”

“I’m not an idiot, Solo. Don’t forget, I was in the room at the time.” Rey stood up and began to pace. “I was eight and she was six. I know what I saw.”

She watched him chew on that. She watched him do what every other person she’d spoken with did--he was looking for rational explanations. And he was going to run her through the facts and make her relive the whole incident. Tears pricked her eyelids. Fuck.

“I appreciate…” Rey swallowed hard on that word because she really didn’t appreciate it at all. “I thank you for your interest. But I have exhausted all avenues and come up with very little.”

Ben picked up the flimsy file and waved it. “It looks like you haven’t exhausted a whole lot. Unless there’s another file I’m missing.” He watched her carefully. “Something tucked away on a hard drive, maybe?”

Rey stopped walking. “That’s classified.”

He snorted. “All right.” He opened his laptop bag again and pulled out a thick file. “This is the real one. Someone put it in my car this morning. I read it before I came into work.”

Rey stared at the paper. “They have it.”

“Oh, yeah, they have it. And now I have it, too. Let me in, Johnson.”

“Seems like you’re already in, Solo.” Rey turned and left the office.

<>

Rey stewed as she stalked to the mess, plopped down at a table, and stared at her phone. She didn’t care how cute Solo was, he was just like the others, like the partners who had first laughed, then asked to be reassigned.

Rey cleared her throat as the strong smell of tobacco hit her nose. She looked up from her phone to see a tall older man walk by with a coffee cup in hand. He made eye contact and nodded briefly, the thick smell of cigarettes rolling off him. Rey nodded in return and turned to stare as he moved past her. She couldn’t place where she’d seen him before.

A shadow fell across the table. Rey stifled a sigh.

Ben slid a cup of coffee in front of her as he sat down. He took a sip of his own and said nothing.

Rey grabbed the creamers that sat on every table and dumped four into her coffee. She stirred it and took a sip as well.

“The only reason I suggest other explanations is because I don’t believe that our government would be terribly successful at hiding aliens, if there were any to hide.” His voice was a soft rumble. “In the military, secrets were hard to keep. In medical school, gossip ran wild through every team I was on. Your secret case isn’t very secret.”

Rey looked up. “They’re trying to shut it down. Doesn’t that say something, Solo? Why would they care if it’s a harmless bit of idiocy?”

His face registered no emotion, except for a small tic under his eye. “I don’t think it’s because aliens exist and they took your sister. There are other explanations and, for some reason, you may be getting close to those. Because your father worked at the Pentagon, he may have made enemies--of whom, I don’t know. And you were too young to understand what was happening.” He paused and took another drink of his coffee. “Why haven’t you asked him?”

Rey made a tiny dry sound. “He’s dead, Solo. Don’t you think I would if I could?”

Ben sat back. “The files don’t include that fact. Where’s your mother?”

“Passed away last year from Alzheimer’s. She wasn’t herself for a long time. So you see, there’s only me to track down my sister, who may or may not still be alive. I choose to think she is and she's hiding somewhere under another name.”

Rey’s eyes welled up and she looked away.

Ben pulled a napkin out of the holder and handed it to her. He squeezed her hand as he slipped the napkin in it. He said not another word but picked up his coffee cup and left the mess.

<>

Rey had plenty of paperwork to keep her busy the next day. Neither she nor Ben mentioned her sister’s case again while they processed a backlog of case files that turned out to have no paranormal activity.

After lunch, an email came through for Rey with an odd return address. The sender called himself Deep Throat.

Rey sent it back immediately without opening it. She sent a screenshot of the email to the puppet account address and wrote that she didn’t accept anonymous emails from porn movies.  _ Furthermore, _ she added,  _ Mark Felt identified himself to Woodward and Bernstein before using the name “Deep Throat _ .”  _ So, if this was a joke, it was a poor one. _

She was typing so hard and fast that when she slammed the enter key, Ben looked up.

“What was that?”

Rey smiled at him. “Somebody calling themselves Deep Throat. I get all kinds of shit mail here because I work on the X-Files.”

Ben came to stand near her. “Don’t you want to know what it says?” He looked at her screen.

“If it’s serious, they will write back.”

“All right. Going to the mess to stretch my legs.”

Rey gave him a little wave.

The email came back with a comment, encrypted with her own code:  _ Open the email, Rey. _

She sucked in a breath. That got her attention.

The whole message was encrypted with her code--the one she used to write her reports in. The email said that a diary had been found and was believed to be Samantha’s based on pertinent details and location of the diary. It had been placed in the Pentagon evidence vault. 

Rey sat back in chair. The Pentagon vault.

Rey wrote back in code:  _ Samantha was six when she was abducted. She would not have been capable of writing a diary on an alien vessel. And the Pentagon vault is impossible to breach. Don’t give me this bullshit, whoever the fuck you are. _

Immediately, the reply came back:  _ Oh ye of little faith. Samantha was dropped off after her stay with ‘friends.’ She was… different. Because she didn’t want to return to her family, she was placed with a new family. Eventually, she wrote about her experiences. We know you want to read it. She remembers you as her dearest Rey of Sunshine. We can get you into the vault as long as you deny any connection to us. Of course, you know very little, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Will email tomorrow with instructions. _

Fat chance. Rey never followed instructions anyway. She grabbed her jacket, put her gun in its holster, and her phone in her pocket.

Rey walked to the bullpen where the car check-out was located. As she requisitioned a car, she felt his presence behind her.

“Going somewhere?” he murmured.

She turned. “Yes.”

The keys appeared on the counter and Ben snagged them up.

“Hey,” Rey said. “You’re not going.”

“Yes, I am.” He walked toward the door, Rey skittering behind him, swearing under her breath. He would not take over her case. He would not.

“Spill it.” Ben buckled his seatbelt and turned on the car.

“Pentagon,” Rey sniffed. “And step on it.”

Ben stares at her. “What are you up to?”

“I’m attempting to work on an X-File, if you must know.”

“Let me in on it. I’m your partner.”

Rey sighed and cast a sideways glance at Ben. Should she trust him? She had no reason to, since he was watching her every move and reporting it to that asshat, Blevin.

Ben sat staring straight ahead, letting the motor run. “Car can’t go unless you tell, Johnson.”

“Fuck,” Rey muttered. “Fine.” She gulped a breath. “You can’t tell anyone. I got intel from a reputable source--which I’m not going to reveal--that my sister’s diary was located, tagged, and placed in the vault.”

Ben’s eyes widened. “At the Pentagon.”

“Yep, and I’m about to go get it. I have all the pieces in place.”

“In broad daylight?” Ben asked. He had always used the cover of night for such ops.

“Best time,” Rey said. “They’re not expecting me and I have friends on the inside, as they say.”

“Deep Throat?” Ben asked.

“Maybe,” Rey said.

“You’d make a lousy spy,” he commented.

“Whatever,” she said. “You want in. You’re in.”

Ben put the car in gear. “All right. Let’s go.”

“Good, then.” Rey was slightly taken aback that it had been so easy to convince her new partner to break into the Pentagon--or at least misrepresent their intentions there.

“What is this diary supposed to be?” Ben asked, in a casual tone.

Rey’s radar went up. “No, that’s classified, Solo. You don’t have a need to know.”

He pressed his lips together and said not another word as they found parking among other G cars. 

As Rey climbed out of the car, she saw a tall man in a slightly rumpled suit walk up to the entrance. He stood beside the large canister ashtray and sucked a few more puffs into his lungs. It was the same man she’d seen earlier in the mess. He never looked their way as he snuffed out his cigarette, coughed again loudly, and opened the big glass door. 

A faint memory nibbled at the edges of Rey’s thoughts but she couldn’t place it. 

“That guy needs to cut down on his smoking,” Ben noted. He pulled the door open again, waving away the lingering fumes as they both went inside.

They presented their badges to security and Rey mentioned the name of her friend. The guards held out a plastic container. “Phones in here.”

Ben and Rey stared at each other for a moment.

“We need them for our business here,” Ben said.

The guard looked unimpressed. They unwillingly dropped their phones in the bucket.

A tall, striking woman with cropped blonde hair stalked into view.

“Follow me,” she said.

“Hi, Gwen,” Rey said. “This is Gwen Phasma.” She pointed to Gwen’s retreating back.

“Uh, Gwen,” Rey called. “We need our phones.”

Gwen didn’t even turn around. She clicked down the hall on sturdy heels and opened the door to her office. Rey and Ben walked inside. Gwen shut the door and turned to the two agents.

“Fine, Johnson, I don’t know what your little scheme is here, but I owe you one, so here you are. If you get me fired, so help me God.”

“Oh, calm down. I got an email from… someone. It’s all good.” Rey paused. “My new partner, Ben Solo, Marine and medical doctor.”

Gwen flicked a nod in Ben’s direction and then did a bit of a double-take. “Dr. Solo.”

“Ms. Phasma.”

Rey caught Gwen’s interest and narrowed her eyes. “Let us out. I can take it from here.” She put her hand on the door.

“We need our phones,” Ben repeated.

Gwen flicked a glance in his direction. “You need a higher-up to okay that. It’s protocol around here if you don’t have clearance to bring them in.”

“I thought that would be obvious, Gwennie,” Rey said. “And you know that as well as I do. We really need our tech.”

Gwen bristled. “Don’t call me Gwennie. We’re not at the academy or on spring break. Foxy.” She spit the nickname out.

Rey rolled her eyes. “Stop being pissed at me for saving you from that crook.” She looked at Ben. “I found out Gwennie’s fiance was a scammer and had a couple of wives stashed away. She’s never forgiven me for taking the love of her life.”

“Foxy?” Ben was grinning at Rey. “Is that your nickname?”

“Shut up, Solo,” Rey said.

“We all called her that because she’s clever as a fox and twice as pretty. ‘Foxy Babe’ was her code name in all our fake ops.” Gwen thawed out a little when she saw Ben’s smile. “You know his nickname, don’t you?”

“I don’t,” Rey said, curious.

“Yeah, you do,” Gwen said. “More of an alias, really.”

Ben stared Gwen down. She wasn’t deterred.

“Kylo Ren,” Gwen said.

Rey caught her breath. This guy was the legendary Kylo Ren? He had run so many dangerous ops before retiring it was a wonder he was still alive. In fact, if someone had asked Rey whether Kylo Ren was dead, she might have said yes.

Rey stared at Ben. “Is that so? Solo, are you Kylo Ren?”

Ben huffed. “That’s not up for discussion at the moment. We need our phones back, please. If you can’t do it, I know someone who can.”

Gwen shook her head at both of them. “I surely hope you know what you’re about.”

“Hold on,” Rey said. “We’re going to need passes. We can’t get to the vaults from here without getting through checkpoints.”

“All right,” Ben said. “We can get those, too.”

Gwen and Rey exchanged glances.

“You have the resources?” Rey asked. “I was going to bullshit my way through. But it will be easier with a pass.”

“Military doesn’t take bullshit, Johnson. You wouldn’t get very far. Make up a story that can’t be checked out and I’ll see what I can do. Stay here.”

He stepped out into the hallway and called to a uniformed individual outside the office. Rey stared at the door as it closed. Ben’s voice had changed. He rapped out an order like… like… 

“Tell the truth,” Gwen hissed. “Just say you need evidence for a case and be done with it. Don’t be, you know,  _ you… _ ”

“Fuck off,” Rey hissed back. “You haven’t done one thing wrong. You just met us at the door.”

“And vouched for you.”

“We are on FBI business,” Rey stated.

“Say that, then,” Gwen replied.

Ben walked back in. “Passes and phones. Come with me.” That same voice, the command.

They said goodbye to Gwen and walked down the halls toward Ring E, where higher level military personnel were located. 

Ben turned left and found the door he was searching for.

He knocked and a man opened. “Solo?”

“Yeah. Hey, Storm, how are you?”

A tall, handsome man with a huge grin stood in the doorway. “Fucking Ren, get the fuck in here.” He reached out and pulled Ben into a laughing bear hug. Ben bore it stoically but patted Finn on the back.

Finn leaned back. “Sorry, man, forgot you’re not much of a hugger. Glad to see you. Went into the FBI. Good on ya, dude. Who’s this?” Finn held out his hand. Rey took it and returned the smile.

“My partner, Agent Johnson,” Ben said.

“Come in! You need something from the vault? Working on a case? All right. Some of these guys are sticky beaks here and won’t hand out passes for shit.” He pulled open a drawer and pulled out two laminated passes with clips. “Here you go.”

A guard appeared in the doorway, holding the container with their phones.

They were in.

<>

The walk to the vault was uneventful. They didn’t even have to break in. A guard opened the door for them and asked if she could help them look for their evidence.

Rey smiled and said they were all set.

“Are you really?” Ben murmured as the door clunked closed behind them. There were rows upon rows of white cardboard evidence boxes. Rey found a set of huge ring binders with laminated pages, hanging on hooks by the entrance. They listed the contents of each row--by case file number and last name.

“Fuck.” Rey grabbed a thick plastic notebook. “Would the boxes be organized by case file number? Or what?”

Ben looked over her shoulder. “Try it.”

Rey thumbed through the pages. “I didn’t set up a box for the case because there is no real evidence to support….” She stopped talking as she realized how it sounded.

Ben put a hand on her shoulder. “Not yet, anyway.”

Rey turned toward him. “Do you believe me, then?”

He hesitated.

“That’s what I thought,” Rey said.

“Don’t give up just because of me,” he answered. “‘There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.’”

Rey gave him a small smile. “I think that’s my line, Hamlet.”

He nodded. “Fair enough. But it is apt.”

Rey continued to thumb through the first notebook quickly, then the second, until she found an entry for her sister’s case file. “There it is.”

Ben noted the numbers and walked toward the correct aisle, Rey on his heels.

They jogged down the rows of boxes, looking for the number.

And there it was. A plain white box like all the others. Rey hesitated.

Ben yanked it off the shelf and opened it.

They both peered inside to see a girl’s diary, covered in fuschia silk and locked with a tiny silver key. Rey pulled it out, reverently. She put it to her nose and lips.

“Samantha,” she whispered.

“Open it,” Ben said softly behind her.

With shaking fingers, she fumbled the tiny key into the lock and turned. It broke off.

“Shit,” Rey said.

“Let me try,” Ben said. “I might have to break it open.”

“It’s all right, Solo, I trust…” She couldn’t finish.

He gazed at her for a moment. Then he pulled the diary apart with a quick pop.

He handed it to Rey, who opened it eagerly. She flipped the pages with her heart in her throat.

“No,” she said and turned it upside down. She shook it. “Fuck, Solo. It’s blank.” Rey dropped the book and held her head in her hands.

Ben picked up the diary to look and sure enough, there wasn’t one thing written there. The pages hadn’t even been turned. He inspected the evidence tag; it too was completely blank.

With one strong arm, Ben pulled Rey to his chest. She leaned in. He snuggled her under his chin and rocked her. She wound her arms around his waist and let him hold her.

“I’m so sorry,” he murmured, stroking her hair.

“I thought--” she choked.

“I know.”

She raised her face. He put his hand on her cheek and gently swiped away her tears with his thumb. 

Rey closed her eyes for a moment. She felt Ben’s warm breath against her face as he pulled her closer to him.

That was when the lights went out. And the door mechanism ground to a halt, echoing loudly in the dark cavern.

<>

“Oh, hell, no,” Ben said through gritted teeth. He’d been in this situation before. As Kylo Ren, he had taken on some of the most dangerous missions--sometimes they had been traps. And this thing suddenly felt like a trap. “Come on,” he whispered.

“What’s going on?” Rey whispered back.

“Don’t know,” he said. 

Shit. They’d left their phones outside with security. Protocol. No recording devices in the evidence vault.

“Hold my hand.” Ben felt his way along the shelves. He hoped his eyes would get used to the dark, but there didn’t seem to be any light whatsoever. He couldn’t see his hand in front of his face.

“Hang on, Solo.” Rey pulled him up short. “I have this on my keychain.” She turned on a tiny LED flashlight.

“Oh, Johnson, you are a miracle,” he said, chuckling. He wanted to kiss her but decided that wasn’t the time or place.

With the help of the tiny light, they were able to make their way back to the door.

“Bang on it,” Rey said. “Let them know we’re in here.”

“They already know, Johnson; that’s why we’re stuck in here. Though for what purpose, I’m not sure. This is some kind of trap. I’m getting us out of here before it springs.”

He fished for his own keys, which had a set of implements hidden inside an innocuous key chain. 

Rey held the light up for him. “What is that?” She watched him unscrew the nut at the top of a fake bolt and draw out his prized possession--lock picks and other assorted tiny tools that fit inside the keychain. These little tools had been invaluable under the worst of circumstances.

Rey laughed delightedly. “Are you going to pick the Pentagon’s locks, Solo?”

“I certainly hope so.” He touched the covered panel next to the door and began to unscrew it with the small screwdriver in his set. Then he handed Rey the piece of metal. “Hold this, too.”

“How did you ever make it without a valet, Kylo Ren?” Rey’s voice shook a little with nerves.

He chuckled. “Shut up, Johnson, and let me work. I haven’t Kylo Ren’d in a while. Hold that light up, please.”

Rey did. She looked at the wires. “That one, Solo. The twisted one. Try it.”

He sighed. “Amateurs. Let me think.”

“I’m not an amateur. I went through bomb defusing training just like you did.”

“This isn’t a bomb. And I was a Marine, Johnson. You’re a civilian.”

“I’m an FBI agent.” Rey pinpointed the wire with her flashlight. “That one.”

“And you’re bothering me.” Ben thought it was that wire, too, but he wasn’t ready to admit it yet.

“Cut it.”

Ben used the knife and cut the wire. Nothing.

“Okay,” Rey said. “Let me see if I can push the door open.”

“Good grief, woman, wait for me. I’m stronger…” He was talking to the darkness.

Rey was banging and pulling at the steel door.

“Other way,” Ben said, coming up behind her. He grabbed the handle of the door and gave a mighty push with his shoulder. Rey shoved her bodyweight against it, too. The door opened suddenly and they both spilled out into the hallway, much to the surprise of the security guard, who was hovering nearby to see what the noise was.

“Give us our shit,” Rey said. “We’re leaving.”

“O-Okay.” The guard stepped back as Ben and Rey snatched their phones up.

Rey stopped as a familiar voice said her name.

She turned to see Assistant Director Skinner standing with two other guards. He did not look pleased.

<>

Ben sat at the end of a long table, wishing he was anywhere else. His partner waited in the hallway outside. She was about to get booted from the FBI and there didn’t seem to be anything he could do about it.

The two men sat at the other end of the table looking smug. Chief Blevins, of course, felt vindicated, and Assistant Director Skinner merely smiled to himself.

“And this visit to the Pentagon was not officially sanctioned?”

“No,” Ben stated. “However…”

“That’s all you need to say, Mr. Solo.”

“It’s Dr. Solo or Master Sergeant Solo or even Special Agent, if you prefer. Mister is not my title.” His Kylo Ren was showing but Ben was beyond caring. He’d literally taken a demotion to become a fucking FBI agent. And for what?

“Yes, of course.” Blevins backed off quickly. “We simply need confirmation that Agent Johnson was not where she was supposed to be.”

“She had been sent an encrypted email,” Ben said. “In effect, she was lured to the Pentagon by an unknown informant. The information she was sent was incorrect and led to us being locked--”

“We read your report as well as Miss Johnson’s ravings,” Skinner broke in.

Ben pressed his lips together and ran his hand down his face before speaking in a deadly voice, yet again. “Kindly refer to me by my well-earned titles, Director, as I do the same for you. And refer to Special Agent Johnson by using her title as well.” He made eye contact first with Skinner, then Blevins. Both shifted uncomfortably in their chairs.

Good. Kylo Ren still works.

“Whether you believe Special Agent Johnson’s case or not is immaterial in this hearing. It’s also immaterial that she entered the Pentagon vault under false pretenses. She was lured there.” He slammed the table with a fist. “That is the bottom line.”

Skinner stood. “Those extenuating circumstances matter little to the chain of command. Without it, as you well know, Special Agent Solo, we cannot function as an organization. Dismissed.”

Ben stood as well. “I promise I’ll take this to the highest level of the FBI if you fire Agent Johnson.” His voice held a solid promise. “I assure you that you will not enjoy the results.”

“Just do your damn job, Agent Solo,” Skinner growled.

“We’ll see,” Ben retorted.

<>

Rey watched her partner stomp out of the room, crackling with anger. She understood exactly what it would be like to be on the wrong side of this man, who presented himself as an innocuous FBI agent with his mussed waves and rimless glasses. He was not what he seemed. Not in the least. The fire in his eyes was unmistakable--he was furious and ready to do battle.

“It’s okay,” she murmured as she stood up.

“Rey,” he said through gritted teeth. He put his hands on her shoulders to look into her eyes. “I’m sorry. I did what I could. I’ll find a way…” He pushed one big hand through his hair. “I swear…”

“It’s sweet of you to think of me, but I expected this outcome. Once you were assigned to me, I knew it was over.” Rey laid her hands on his suit jacket lapels. She patted him, wanting to soothe him. “They’ve been gunning for me ever since I was hired. I don’t know exactly why, other than my insistence on following up on X-Files and writing field reports about unexplained phenomena.”

“That’s really not enough to make them want you out so badly.” Ben felt certain of that fact. 

Rey looked up at him. “No, probably not.” She dropped her eyes but not her hands.

“It’s something else, then,” he stated. “Something you aren’t telling me.”

“Yeah,” Rey said. “I’m guessing that’s the issue.”

He stood still holding her shoulders. He gave her a tiny shake of frustration. “Fuck, Johnson. How am I supposed to help you if you don’t tell me things?”

She moved her hand to his upper arms and squeezed his biceps. “Damn, that’s real, honest-to-God muscle, isn’t it?”

He raised his brows. “Changing the subject?”

“Yep, and they’re waiting for me.”

“Let them wait,” Ben growled. “They don’t deserve you, and I can’t see how you did one thing wrong.”

“Let me take the hit, Ben, and then no one gets hurt. I can find another job.” Rey patted his arms again and walked into her interview.

As expected, Skinner and Blevins pinned her with snotty looks and nasty accusations. She ignored them and nodded along without paying them much mind. She was thinking of Benjamin Solo’s strong arms and how he’d called her Rey.

<>

Ben waited for Rey, feeling like a snarling beast ready to bite someone’s head off. She came out and gave him one look that told the whole story.

“I’m out, Ben,” she said. “I’m done.”

He turned toward the closed door as if to wait for the men inside. He was seething.

“No, don’t,” Rey said. “They’ll just fire you, too. Come on, I’ll buy you lunch with the last of my salary.”

She tugged on his arm a little. He paused and breathed away his rage. He couldn’t take it out on her but he would make Skinner and Blevins regret their actions. He took a deep breath and smiled at Rey.

“All right, but I’m buying,” Ben said. He offered her his hand.

She stared at him for a long moment.

He watched the light dawn in her pretty eyes. “Well, if you’re fired,” he said. “Then…” He trailed off.

Rey put her hand in his. “If I’m fired, then what? Are you asking me out, Agent Solo?”

He twined his fingers with hers as they walked outside the building toward the parking lot. “Nope, you asked me out. Said you’d pay and everything, though I’m not going to let you do that. Hey, I might even have one of those burgers.”

Rey laughed. “Okay, maybe getting fired isn’t the worst thing that could happen.”

“No, there are a lot of other worse things.” Ben stopped and turned her toward him right there on the sidewalk. He bent down and touched his mouth to hers. He didn’t know how much he craved her until he tasted her sweet mouth. He wanted to devour her then and there.

She opened her mouth under his and gently tasted him with her warm tongue. He rumbled deep in his chest and touched her tongue with his. 

Ben made himself stop, slowly, reluctantly pulling his lips away from hers. He would resume his exploration of Rey’s soft lips and possibly the rest of her later.

He vaguely noted the presence of a man walking toward them. He noted the gentleman had a cigarette and trailed smoke as he walked. Ben had seen this guy before, though usually he stood in the back of important meetings, surrounded by a reeking haze.

The man had a sickly smile and made eye contact with Ben and Rey. He stopped on the sidewalk and held the cigarette aloft. “Agents Johnson and Solo. I suggest you two hold hands off-site so as not to raise the suspicions of the higher-ups.” He gave a raspy cough as a laugh. “Agent Johnson, pleased to see you.” 

The man held out a mottled hand. Ben watched Rey stare at this person in complete, rapt fascination as if a memory had just flooded her mind.

“Yes,” she said faintly.

“I knew your father well.” Another sick smile slid over the old man’s features. “Well indeed. I would never allow anyone at the Bureau to fire Bill Johnson’s child--as you are like my own daughter in so many ways.”

He turned to Ben. “I know you’ll keep her safe. And thank you for your service, Kylo Ren. Enjoy your lunch.”

The man turned and strolled toward the building. He lifted a hand in farewell, though he never turned to see if Ben and Rey were watching.

They were--with mouths hanging open.

“We can still be partners,” Rey said suddenly, ignoring their recent encounter. “Even if we go out on a date.” She tightened her grip on Ben’s hand.

“I don’t think it’s completely against the rules, Johnson,” Ben said.

“Look, Solo, I don’t follow the fucking rules anyway,” Rey said.

Ben sighed. “I know you don’t, Johnson. And someday you’ll have to tell me who your father is and why that joker back there knows him.”

“Someday,” Rey said, smiling. “When you have a need to know.”

  
  
  
  



End file.
